Petee eansom



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER EANsoM, or PUL'TNEY, NEW vonk.

r T'HILL-Tuc.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,218, dated October 11, 1887.

Application filed March 5, 1887. Serial No. 229.816.- (No model.)

To 1/ZZ wiz/0m it may concern.:

Be it known that I, PETER RANSOM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pultney, in the county of Steuben, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill-Tugs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in harness, and to that portion thereof known as thill-tugs; and the object of the invention is to provide a metal tug for connecting the saddle and thills together, obviating the necessity of backing the horse within the shafts, and adapted to be connected by simply dropping the shafts down over the horse orlifting them up from the ground and placing them into the tugs, which open'for their reception.

Other object-s and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a perspective of a thill-tug constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the same, the tug being Y shown as closed; andV Fig. 3 is a similar view, the tug being shown open.v

Like letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

A represents the thill, and B the strap leading from the saddle for connection with the thills. To each end of strap B is ,connected the thill-tug C, and it comprises the cylindrical thill-receiving portion C (the outer edges of which are iiared or beaded, as at C, to prevent abrading the thills) and the plate C2, at the upper end of which is formed aslot, C3, for the reception of the end of the strap B, which is formed with a loop for connection therewith.

G1 representsthe locking-plate, formed with the forwardly-projecting curved lip C5, and with the bent edges C6, adapted to slide upon and embrace the edges of the plate C2. The plate Cl is somewhat narrower than thesocket portion C thereof, whereby shoulders or stops CT are formed thereon, against which the bent edges of plate Gt strike when said plate is in its lowest position.

The outer edge of the lockinglip C5 is slotted, as at GB, and adapted for the reception For the purpose of preventing thills from being injured by contact with the tugs, a leather lining, E, may be provided in the tugs; or, as before stated, the entire tug may be covered with leather or other suitable material.

The operation of the invention is readily apparent from the above description, in that to couple the thills with the saddle-strap it is only necessary to slide the lockingplate upwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, place the thills in the socket C', lower the locking-plate to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and connect the strap D at the slot Cs, whereby the locking-plate will be prevented from rising.

Instead of providing a hook, D', on the strap D, said strap itself may be passed through the slot Cs of the locking-slide.

For the purpose of obviating the necessity of buckling and unbuckling the belly-band from the tug, I in'ay form upon the tuga bail, F, to which one end of the belly-loand may be permanently or removably attached, and upon the belly-band I secure a buckle, D?, for the purpose of attaching a small supplemental strap, D3, to which the hook D may be secured. By this arrangement itis onlynecessary to connect the strap D3 by means of the hook D to the lip C5, and afterward buckle the two ends of the bellyband together in the usual manner.

Having described my invention and its operation, what I claim is l. The combination, in athill-tug, of a strapplate, having a cylindrical thill-receiving portion at its lower end, with a locking-plate mounted to slideupon said strap-plate and lock the thill in position, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a thill-tug, of astrapplate having a cylindrical thill receiving socket at its lower end, provided with shoulders, with a locking-plate mounted on said strap-plate, formed with a locking-lip and bent to embrace the edges Vof the strap-plate, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, in athill-tug, of astrapplate perforated at its top for the reception of IOO 5. The plate C2, formed with the socket portion C', and having the bail F, and the sliding plateV C4, having the projecting lip C5, perforated as at C8, in combination with the straps D D, buckle D2, and hook D', substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I afX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER RANSOM.

Witnesses:

RICHARD N. BENNETT, GHAs. WAGENER. 

